Written entries

1. Portfolio Role, Objective, and Messaging

The main goal of my portfolio is to highlight my skills as an artist and game developer while encouraging more people to connect with my games. I want potential employers and collaborators to see that I have a varied skill set and a passion for exploring new styles and mediums. My website's design resembles that of the late 90s or early 2000s —a unique style that will help me stand out when potential employers or customers visit my page. It will also demonstrate my programming skills in HTML and CSS.

A secondary purpose of my website is to function as a blog. I don't currently upload anything to any social media, but I understand the value of having a place where people can learn about you and your work. I prefer my website to be one where my content doesn't have to compete with paid promotions and algorithms. I plan to keep this blog mostly about projects I'm working on, and I might add more personal posts to give my website a more engaging and relatable feel.

2. Unit Reflection

This unit introduced important concepts for functioning in a professional design environment, learning about different industry pathways, working in teams and creating a website portfolio. It focused on professionally connecting with your chosen industry and provided an overview of what is expected in that industry. I already had a plan for what I wanted to achieve, and this unit helped build my understanding of the pathways I would need to take as I start my career as a game developer.

I found modules like Module 6: Organisation and Productivity and Module 10: The Business of Design particularly useful, as they reinforced the importance of time management and personal branding in creative fields. I enjoyed attending the industry panel event and listening to real designers speak highly and proudly about their work. While I already knew most of the game design-specific content discussed, I enjoyed learning about the other design areas and how they work. The most difficult time during this unit was creating and presenting my industry presentation for assignment 3. This was a group assignment, and my other group member was going through many challenging and confronting events, which heavily impacted our work on the assignment. I learnt a lot about being a leader during this assignment, which was something that I hadn’t experienced before. Overall, I am very proud of how the slideshow looks, my research, and the final presentation.

During college, I participated in the Big Picture Program, which aimed to prepare students for the workplace. We presented our work to our peers, planned our future, and did internships. This unit reminded me much of the Big Picture program and felt like a university-level version.

3. Readings Review

Introduction

Even if you have the best technical skills or the best ideas, you cannot become a successful designer if you don't have effective self-management, discipline, and awareness of your social and moral accountability. The selected readings demonstrate this.

Reading 1. Successful students have goals (Stewart & Maisonville, 2019)

This article argues that success in both academic and professional settings requires effective time management, planning and study habits. It claims that these are all easier to achieve and work on when people have a particular goal in mind. Specifically, this article relates these to students, giving an example goal of finishing university. It provides examples of breaking down this broader goal into smaller, more manageable goals: finish this semester, complete this assignment, and finish this paragraph. It explains why it's essential to set goals and write them down.

Themes: Productivity, Self-Management, Goal-setting

Reading 2. Dieter Rams: 10 Principles for Good Design (Rams, 2024)

In this article, Dieter Rams explains his design principles. Rams is an industrial designer from Germany whose work on companies like Braun and Vitsœ has influenced the practice of design and 20th-century aesthetics and culture. (Lange, 2018). These principles are closely related to industrial design and product design. Still, they can also be applied in most other design-related areas. Rams' emphasis on simplicity, functionality, and sustainability offers a timeless framework that helps designers across disciplines create work that is both effective and enduring. By applying these principles, designers can ensure their products are visually appealing, intuitive, environmentally responsible, and meaningful to users.

Themes: User Experience, Sustainability, Ethics

Reading 3: Design Ethics (Encyclopedia.com, 2019)

This article explains design ethics and why they are essential. It explains that there are four areas to keep in mind: the designer's values, the integrity of their work process, the safety and honesty of the product, and how well the product serves its audience. Ethical Designers strive to create useful, aesthetically pleasing products while balancing function, beauty, and their responsibility to the planet and others.

Themes: Ethics, User Experience, Sustainability

Reading 4: Is this the best time for productivity? (BBC, 2018)

This article explores how the body’s natural rhythms can help improve your productivity. It explains that people tend to have peak times during the day when they are most alert and able to focus, often in the late morning. It says that 11 am is the best time to do work, and that most work is done from 11 am to 7 pm. People are more likely to do more work on Monday through Wednesday, and it's best to schedule meetings later in the week. By becoming aware of our energy highs and lows, we can manage our time more effectively, plan demanding tasks during peak times, and handle routine work during slower periods.

Themes: Productivity, Time Management, Self-Awareness

References

Buchanan, R. (2019). Design ethics. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/design-ethics

Lange, A. (2018, November 28). What We’ve Learned from Dieter Rams, and What We’ve Ignored. The New Yorker; The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-weve-learned-from-dieter-rams-and-what-weve-ignored

Rams, D. (2024). Dieter Rams: Ten Principles for Good Design. Dieter Rams: Ten Principles for Good Design; ReadyMag. https://readymag.website/shuffle/dieter-rams/ten-commandments/

Stewart, I., & Maisonville, A. (2019). Successful students have goals. Ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub, 1. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/studyprocaff/chapter/chapter-1/

4. Reflection on Codes of Conduct and Social Responsibility

Designers must maintain honesty, respect, and responsibility when creating products. They must not attempt to trick or mislead people. An example of this in a game development setting would be using features that aren't finished as a selling point, or being unclear about what a player is purchasing before purchasing it. Many games deliberately obfuscate the cost of things using an in-game currency such as Robux (Roblox) or V-Bucks (Fortnite).

Ethical designers prioritise accessibility, making sure anyone can use their product. People with disabilities or other ailments may struggle when using your product. In game development, the most common tool for this is an “accessibility settings menu” that has colourblindness settings, field of view sliders, the ability to disable effects that could cause nausea, etc. Some games will include options like a narrator, high-contrast textures, and the ability to rebind keys to other input devices. Translating a game into multiple languages and running it on low-end hardware are ways to make it accessible to more people.

Designers have a responsibility to be environmentally conscious when creating products. It is essential to use eco-friendly materials and source them sustainably. Game development is primarily digital, which helps with keeping it eco-friendly. Although there are some environmental issues when using generative AI, you must remember them.

5. Reflection on Engagement with Indigenous Australians

I acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have faced historical and ongoing struggles. The brutal invasion of Australia and the Stolen Generation are tragic but essential parts of Australia’s history. As a designer, I believe it’s important to acknowledge this history and ensure that my work respects and uplifts Indigenous voices. I recognise that meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities is vital. Engaging with these communities directly in smaller, personal projects may be more challenging. However, I will still strive to avoid cultural appropriation and ensure that any references to Indigenous culture are respectful, accurate, and appropriate. Many Aboriginal stories are being lost to time. I believe in preserving these stories through games respectfully, getting these stories from the people who have had them passed down to them. I also plan to continue educating myself about Indigenous knowledge and traditions to apply this understanding even in my smaller-scale projects.